UNILEVER’S ARIEL ASSAULT ON P&G: A VICTORY/DEFEAT IN THE NETHERLANDS

For at least one Shakespeare-loving Kat, the name Ariel will always be synonymous with a character in his play The Tempest. However, for the literally Great Unwashed, the word conjures up a brand of laundry detergent sold with great success by Procter & Gamble.  Given the connections with sorcery and satanism that P&G has long sought to deny, the choice of the name Ariel, he (or possibly she) being a sprite or demon always seemed a little daring.  Be that as it may, from Denise Verdoold and Maarten Rijks (both of Banning NV, The Netherands), comes news of a curious episode of litigation between PG and arch rival Unilever which seems to have had quite a twist in its tail.

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